Spring 2001
June 18, 2001	Fathers, Sons and Brothers
June 11, 2001	Celebrations of All Kinds
June 4, 2001	They're So Rare, They Are Barely Mentioned Anymore
May 28, 2001	Water Babies Ship Out
May 22, 2001	Princess of Whales is Christened!
May 14, 2001	Grand Experiences on the Monterey Bay--No Pre-planning Required
May 6, 2001	Both Boats Worked This Week and We Did a Bunch of Good Things!
April 30, 2001	New Friends and Old Friends on Our Boats and the Monterey Bay
April 22, 2001	Princess of Whales Got a Whole New Exhaust System and Humpback Whales Are Here in Big Numbers!
April 16, 2001	Easter Bunnies and Fabulous Whales
April 10, 2001	A Double Breach and Our First Friendlies of the Year!
April 6, 2001	THE HUMPBACKS ARE HERE!!!
April 2, 2001	A Cruddy Weekend, Old Friends, New Friends
March 25, 2001	Killer Whales and a Valliant Effort

6/18/2001: Fathers, Sons and Brothers
We didn't plan it like this. Steph invited his son Ryan down from Oregon for a visit. Ryan had never been whale watching and he hadn't been out with us on our boats. An apprentice electrician in Portland, his days are high voltage, but in a different way than ours are. Just as Steph started Princess of Whales in preparation for me leaving my post at the head of the dock where I check in passengers, who came strolling through the parking lot but my brother Collin and his wife Carol. They walked along as though they didn't know me and might just sashay past, but I was onto them by then. We all hugged, walked down the dock, I went to the bridge, Steph and Ryan slipped the lines and off we went on a real family adventure. Collin and Carol had never been whale watching, either, which probably seems pretty odd since they just live a couple of hours to the north of us, on the coast, but there you have it.
There was dense fog and this gave me the opportunity to introduce our captain trainee, Deirdre Hall to our new GPS system and to show her how to compare radar with the GPS screen. We talked to our passengers on the PA system, telling them about the Monterey Bay, the submarine canyon, the areas we were cruising that whales like to hang out in and why. The fog teased us by lightening, then getting heavier. We passed two Monterey boats that were on whale watching trips, but none of us had come up with a darned thing. Then the horizon began to stretch out like a lazy cat getting up from a nap. Visibility grew from 200 yards to a mile, then two, then ten and we were in glorious sun on a sparkling bay with barely a hint of a breeze. I went up on top of the bridge to spot for a while and Steph took over with Deirdre. Steph radioed me and said our deckhand had thought he saw a dark sliver go into the water a bit ahead of us to the right. I looked that way, but just then a breaching whale crashed into the water with an enormous splash farther ahead still! We turned that way, called the other boats and they headed for us. For the next hour, we watched one whale, then we pulled away from the other boats and went off to find two more. Oddly, none of the three showed their flukes as they dove, but they circled us, blew so close to the boat after surfacing that people squealed at the sound and they gave everyone opportunities to take pictures. Ryan already had two trips Saturday under his belt, so he was an old hand at this. But he and Collin and Carol sat in the sun, watching the glistening humpbacks cruise around us, glorying in the day.
Ryan, Steph and I had a wonderful time catching up over the weekend. Collin and Carol are really fond of Ryan and had no idea he was here, so they all got to visit. Collin and Carol were able to see and appreciate what we do. Steph was able to celebrate Father's Day with a son who is turning into a fine young man, someone who told his dad how proud he is of what he does. And on top of all that, we found the Father's Day whales for the fleet! It couldn't have been better.
Next week, we host the third in a series of all-day Bird and Whale Watching Cruises with Debra Shearwater. On the Fourth of July, we will put on a first-time-ever overnight cruise to Monterey for the fireworks complete with dinner and breakfast the next morning. Doesn't that sound like a big-time adventure? The end of next month, we will have celebrated author Dick Russell (Eye of the Whale) aboard Princess of Whales for a book-signing cruise. Oh! And in August, we will have our first Sandy Shore Productions concert on Princess of Whales with acoustic artists Willie and Lobo. I'd say things are shaping up quite nicely.

6/11/2001: Celebrations of All Kinds
Steph and I met Joe Schmidt not much over a year ago. He looked a little bit like a youngish Captain Kangaroo and he stood in the middle of a Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce social event with a sweet smile on his face. It a smile we saw often. This was our first Chamber event and we only knew a few people, but Joe was a Chamber Ambassador and as such, he took us on as his baby ducks. When I told him what we did and invited him to come out whale watching with us as our guests, he asked if I was serious. I said I was. "My son Ben would sure be impressed if he heard I knew the captain of a ship!" Joe said. I encouraged him to bring Ben out with us and promised to let Ben drive Sanctuary. Joe adored his son and walked him to school every day before going to work. He beamed when Ben drove our boat. Out on the water together, they were in their glory as they watched the whales and the dolphins cavorting on Monterey Bay.
When we began to think about buying a power catamaran for our business, Joe took an active interest. He helped us with the endless paperwork, he guided us in the ways of high finance and he introduced us to the bankers of Comerica who would eventually help us purchase the Princess of Whales.
When we made the cut as finalists in the Chamber's Business Excellence awards and attended the awards banquet, Joe sat with us. And when we won, we were able to shower him with the praise he deserved in front of his peers for having been a devoted mentor for us. Many times this past year, Joe has been out on the bay with us, tickled over the way things have gone. Princess of Whales owes a lot to Joe for her new life here with us.
So it was with a heavy heart that we walked onto the ancient grounds of the Carmel Mission last Friday. We were there to celebrate Joe's life, which had ended with a heart attack. He was only in his fifties and seemed to be healthy, which made his death all the more tragic. His young son and wonderful wife Oak have been left here, but Joe is gone.
The mission is so old, it nearly staggers under its own weight. The sunlight filtering through the few high windows played gently on the faces of the mourners. The priests did what priests do; it didn't strike me as important. But when two of Joe's nephews stood to read short passages they had written, we heard about the Joe we knew. They spoke of Joe's warmth; how he was always a favorite for each of them and how he made them feel special. Both referred to a phrase they always used when parting from Joe. "See ya Joe, so long, Joe." Over and over, they would call it out the car window as their parents drove away and they'd keep doing this until the car had turned and Joe was out of sight. We didn't get the opportunity to say good-bye to Joe, but we are left with the radiant smile he had a year ago Mother's Day. We were off Moss Landing and surrounded by wildly energetic whales and dolphins. It was bouncy, almost impossible to stand upright, but everyone was having the time of their lives. This included Joe, Chong Oak and Ben. I have rarely seen anyone so excited, so completely jazzed to be where he was that moment in time as Joe was. That's what I will remember. That smile on that incredible day.

This past weekend, we had the David Helvarg book-signing cruise for Save Our Shores and the KAZU radio member cruise. Both events were sponsored by us in an effort to give back to the community. We give a lot--much more than most businesses our size--and we like doing it. This past weekend, we loved it. The Helvarg cruise was stellar thanks to the efforts of Anne Rowley and her merry band of volunteers. They bedecked our Princess of Whales with abalone shells filled with fresh flowers; bouquets of rosemary, roses and ribbons were arranged in her heads; the food and wine and chocolates were heavenly. It was a magnificent effort and the whales cooperated by kindly situating themselves no more than 20 minutes from Moss Landing Harbor. We went out, saw the whales, then returned to port to carry on the festivities which included a fascinating talk by David, author of Blue Frontier: Saving America's Living Seas. It was a class act, Anne; you done good, girl!
Sunday, it was KAZU's turn. While a more modest offering of just whale watching, the whales ramped it up for our guests and put on quite a show for us. They surfaced about 100 feet away, then turned around and came right at us. We sat out there exclaiming how thrilling it was to see them coming our way, their pectoral flippers glowing in the water, their huge blowholes blasting vapor as they steamed within a few feet of our bows before making spectacular dives into the bay. It was both a joy and an honor to have been part of all of these events, Joe's life included. "See ya Joe, so long, Joe."

6/4/2001: They're So Rare, They Are Barely Mentioned Anymore

In retrospect, last week seemed a lot like most of our weeks. Whale watching cruises, some special charters. We met some interesting people. We worked hard. But in the middle of the week, Steph was out on a whale watching cruise and I was doing some computer work. He called, as he does several times a day, only this time, he had an unusual request.

"I wonder if you could help me with an I.D.," he said. I could tell from his voice he really was puzzled.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We've got a whale out here that I can't figure out. It's large, larger than a gray whale, especially across the back. Easily as big as a very dark gray and I thought maybe it was an oddly colored gray whale, but there are no knuckles on the lower tail stock [before the tail]. Also the tail stock is really thick, more like a blue whale's, and the flukes are huge, unlike the flukes of a blue compared with the size of the tail stock."

"How many times have you seen it? Is it alone?" I asked.
"Yeah, one whale. We've been watching it for about an hour. Its diving sequence is really unusual, too. It comes up, blows, then swims along for several blows before it sounds, pretty much like humpbacks. But it has stayed down for 20 minutes a couple of times already. It's not very fast swimming, but it's been going a different direction the next time we've seen it."
My mind ticked off the characteristics. No dorsal fin, no knuckles, dark gray, almost black. "Steph!" I whispered, "I think you've got a right whale out there!"
"I think you're right," he agreed. "I know they're supposed to be out here, but I've never heard of a sighting."
We both found it hard to believe, but Steph and his passengers had all compared what they did see to what they didn't see. Clearly, no dorsal fin or knuckles. No barnacles. It had no white callosities on the top of its head as we've seen in pictures of right whales on the east coast of the United States, but it had a very deeply scalloped or curved mouth, which right whales have. Thick tail stock, very large flukes that didn't have the long, graceful tips that humpbacks often have.
When Steph and I work together, we usually have our cameras with us, including one with a powerful zoom. I knew he wouldn't have brought it with him. He didn't. One passenger got a photograph, but he didn't hold much hope for it since it was slow to focus.
We talked a little longer. I commented on the gift of seeing something so rare, but the full impact wasn't felt until later. I was about to send an update to the people on our email list, so I added a few paragraphs about the right whale and then sent it out. Wayne Perryman, a biologist from National Marine Fisheries Service, is on our address list because we sent him photos of an emaciated gray whale we'd seen in the middle of summer, which is not a time we normally see gray whales here. I don't usually bother him with updates, but I clicked on Wayne's name, thinking he might be interested in the right whale on the Monterey Bay.
The email cleared our computer, zinged into the telephone line and minutes after it reached Wayne's computer, he was on the phone with Steph. They compared information and Wayne agreed it had to be a right whale. He told Steph there may be only ten of these animals in this population alive today. There could be fewer. The highly endangered right whales of the eastern U.S. waters number around 300 and although they recently bore over 20 calves, their gene pool is tiny. They tend to congregate in areas with heavy ship traffic and they get hit and die. They get tangled in fishing gear and drown. Their prospects are not bright and that's with a population that is perhaps 30 times the size of the eastern Pacific's right whales. Although there is a very small amount of right whales up in the waters above the Aleutians, it's thought they aren't part of this population.
Right whales were named by early whalers who liked the fact these whales were chunky, had lots of blubber and they floated when they died, rather than sinking as other whales do. They were the right whales to kill. Unfortunately, even after the right whale was declared endangered and protected, they were slaughtered. With the end of the Cold War, we learned that thousands of them were slaughtered by the Russians. They not only admitted it, but they apologized. Too Late to matter, they at least acknowledged their crime against nature.
After talking to Wayne, Steph spoke with a biologist at Moss Landing Marine Labs. This fellow had seen right whales on the east coast. He agreed with our identification of the lone whale. To get photographs would be tremendous, to get a skin sample to biopsy would be phenomenal. A plane was sent to Monterey from Santa Barbara in hopes of locating the whale based on the coordinates Steph gave them of his last sighting before he headed in with his passengers. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary vessel headed out to try to find it. Steph and I offered to go back out on Sanctuary with biologists, but no one took us up on it. For two days, they combed the Monterey Bay and surrounding waters. Steph returned to the same area the next day. But the whale was not seen again.
Two days later, we attended Debi Shearwater's presentation at the monthly meeting of the American Cetacean Society at Stanford University's marine research station. Everyone had heard of the right whale sighting and they wanted to know more. Alan Baldridge, a true expert in the cetacean world, marvelled at the sighting. He told the group a lone right whale is sighted once every several years. With so few out there, one has to wonder if they ever come across another of their kind. Apparently this population doesn't have the white callosities on the top of its head as the east coast right whales have, the ones we see in most, if not all photographs. Steph's sighting was in keeping with the others.
We all agreed it was a gift to see the whale, an animal so rare and endangered that it barely is mentioned anymore. But on the day of the sighting, not everyone aboard Sanctuary agreed with this sentiment. One woman had expected to see humpbacks. She had wanted to be thrilled by breaches and other wild activity. She should have been sitting in front of a tank at Sea World, watching orcas do predictable tricks on command. That would have suited her. But not me. Even on the rare day that we don't see whales or dolphins out in the wild, I feel better for having been part of the world of the sea, not Sea World.
So imagine how I'd have felt, both the joy and the gut-wrenching sorrow, to have seen a creature that is extinct, but doesn't know it yet.

5/28/2001: Water Babies Ship Out

We had a great week. The last of the people who volunteered to perform water quality testing for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary's Snapshot Day came our for their free trip; they were ecstatic to find we care enough about protecting these waters that we'd host all 125+ of them. They were rewarded by spectacular whale sightings. The humpbacks were frisky and the Bay was calm and gorgeous.
We had Bill and Cathy West on board Princess of Whales Saturday. They created a terrific video from just one trip with us last year and were out to get more footage. With two decks and so many options, they were able to capture some wild tail slaps and several surfacings near the boat.
One of our water testers turned out to be someone I knew in the early 70's. It took us half an hour of talking about mutual friends to figure it out, but what a neat thing to discover he and his wife are so passionate about the environment that they are involved in fighting to protect it, to improve it. Sometimes, I look at people who are so wrapped up in taking without giving and I think the world is just falling apart. What are they thinking of? Then I run across this guy. A retired California Highway Patrolman, he was asking a squid fisherman we both knew how long he thought they could keep hauling in record catches before it caught up with the supply. He asked this question twenty years ago and when he ran into the fisher again recently, he was told ruefully, "You were right."
Back in the early 70's, I had my first of several motorcycles and this guy was a bike cop. Straight-laced and by the book, he was my worst nightmare if I ever got stopped by him. Luckily, I never did. Isn't that something for us to meet up all these years later, seeing how we both turned out? For our common ground to be not just the ground, but the water and our concerns over what we as a species are doing to it? Several times the next morning and throughout the day, I thought of him and his wife and their pure delight over being with whales. There are times when Steph and I feel as though we are simply blessed and this was one of those times. We work long hours and never seem to complete our long lists of things we have to do. But when we share an experience with people who get it, who understand how special whales are and how important it is to protect our natural world for all of us species, we've gotten the best reward there is.
And it wasn't just them. It seemed that the weekend was our own watershed event, filled with happy people. On Sunday, we had a family from Florida that stumbled on us thanks to the enthusiasm of the concierge at their hotel. They never stopped smiling. We had Pam and Steve, passengers who have become friends, who have moved on to other parts of the country, but still come back to go out with us. The humpbacks and several dozen Pacific white-sided dolphins were spectacular and the Bay was as calm as it gets. Even though it was an overcast, cool day, the color of the water viewed through our underwater viewing ports was a breathtaking blue-green. We tried to watch them to see if the dolphins or whales passed by, but it is impossible to stay inside when you can be out on deck where you can hear the mighty blows as the whales surface and exhale, where you can see the jumping sea lions and frolicking dolphins. We were just wrung out from the fun of it all.
We had a Girl Scout troop with us. At the request of their leader, I had a date on the bridge with them on the trip back to the harbor. We talked about how I came to be doing what I am doing. I told them about starting several retail stores over 13 years before I ran away to sea and started working on tugboats. I encouraged them to get as much math, science and computer skills as they could, because it will help them do anything. Every girl drove the Princess of Whales. Man! What I would have done for an opportunity like that when I was a kid! It can't have been lost on them that I came from humble--though creative--beginnings and look what I do now.
As passengers disembarked, several thanked us for the adventure of a lifetime. The woman from Florida, who feeds cabbages to the gentle manatees that are so endangered, assured us she'd tell their concierge just how right she was. Some of the water testers were nearly in tears over how much they appreciated the opportunity to join us as our guests. When people react like this, they're taking our message to heart.
This IS a world worth fighting for.

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5/22/2001: Princess of Whales is Christened!

Well heck, it only took four months to christen our catamaran but we did it! After a whale watching cruise that had us encircled by a humpback whale just minutes from Moss Landing Harbor, we spiffed the boat up, turned on some tunes, cranked up the barbecue and I cooked several platters of freshly caught salmon for the Coming Out Party. We had some really special guests, including Phil from Phil's Fish Market and Eatery who left a packed house to come over and surprise us with a salmon dip and french bread. What a neat guy he is! And we had Nancy and Bruce Fountain aboard. Nancy works at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She and Bruce brought Princess of Whales a stunning mother and calf humpback sculpture. Debi Shearwater was there. Debi started whale and bird watching trips on the Monterey Bay over 26 years ago. Debi got a chance to meet my sister Jan, who runs FDR's former presidential yacht Potomac on San Francisco Bay. Jan's husband Joe was there, too. Chief engineer of the SF Museum of Modern Art, Joe showed off what he claimed was a real tattoo on his shoulder. It had a whale's tail and said "Princess of Whales." Something tells me it washed off in the bath, but what do I know?
We had quite a contingent of commercial fishers from Moss Landing Harbor, including the black lab Neil Diamond (so named for the little white blaze on his chest). Fluke was convinced he came looking for her goldfish crackers but he took her testiness in stride. Since Steph christened Sanctuary, it was my turn to christen Princess of Whales. It was pretty sweet the way he sat on one of the tables in the main cabin with our guests and watched me talk. He had the warmest smile and later he said he was so proud of me. I tell you, that man is so sweet. I told everyone that I have a hard time believing we are not even two years old as a company. We're just getting started, yet we have the best and grandest boats on the central coast of California. My mom and I had a long talk on the phone last August and I told her about our just-hatched plan to find and somehow finance a catamaran. She was pretty jazzed over it all. I said it would be hard, scary and expensive, but she said we'd handle it. "Just put your order in!" she said cheerfully. She was a true believer in the power of positive thinking.
Mom died three days later. No illness we knew of, no malingering. Poof! She was gone. It hasn't even been a year since losing her and starting to look for the cat. Maybe this explains why I often feel as though I have whiplash from the rapid-fire way life has zoomed by recently. But here we are; we decided what we wanted and we got out of the way. It is happening.
Janet Ruth Tiura was a grand lady, so I dedicated Princess of Whales to her. We gathered out on the foredeck, where I wrapped a bottle of champagne in a burlap bag. I said, "Well Mom, this one's for you. I dedicate this boat to Janet, the Queen of Hearts. I christen thee Princess of Whales!" After attending so many christenings where people tried time and again to break the bottle of champagne, perhaps I overshot the required effort. That bottle exploded easily and the champagne gushed out of the burlap. Not as picturesque as letting the glass fall into the water but that would be bad form for conservationists, now wouldn't it?
Debi said she sure wished she had met my mother. I wish she had, too. There are so few people with such spunk, such humor. Just this morning, I was puttering in the garden and I said, "I sure miss you, Mom. Nobody ever made me laugh like you did." She was like a great bottle of wine, something rich and rare and meant to be shared. And now, her Princess of Whales is twinkling on the bay on her evening charters. Easing into the world of whales and dolphins and introducing kids of all ages to their wonders. I'd say it's a pretty nice tribute to the woman who reminded me right before she relocated, "Get out of the way and let it happen!"

5/14/2001: Grand Experiences on the Monterey Bay--No Pre-planning Required

Have you ever taken a spontaneous trip where everything fell into place? Maybe you set out with only a vague idea of where you were headed, but you stumbled on the neatest little inn with warm and friendly people; or you found a great restaurant and after dinner, you walked on the beach and the sand was still warm and the breeze soft and sweet... It requires suspension of conscious thought, just going wherever a whim takes you.
Last week, on a weekday, Steph and Danny were preparing to head out on a whale watching cruise with Sanctuary and two English gentlemen appeared. Father and son, they had no reservations, but wondered if they could join the cruise. They did and it was one of a long string of typical spring humpback whale cruises. Bait balls the size of apartment buildings showed on our depth sounder and within minutes of leaving Moss Landing, the boat was surrounded by whales. Passengers were enthralled as one humpback calf we've been seeing regularly with its mom just went off! It breached over and over, catapulting out of the water and crashing back into it so many times, that almost everyone who was taking pictures or video managed to get a good shot. The English son, a man in his forties, got some wonderful video footage. He told Steph he and his dad had hopped on a plane from L.A. and flew into San Jose with no greater plans than to play some golf on the Monterey peninsula. Their flight was on time, their baggage was actually there to meet them and the drive over Highway 17 went flawlessly. As they neared Moss Landing, they saw a sign for charter boat fishing and pulled off the highway. They learned the charter boats had departed, but heard of our whale watching cruise and so they came down to check it out.
The next three hours were so far beyond their expectations that the pair could barely find words for them. The son explained that he takes one quality holiday a year and spends the rest of the year paying off his American Express card. He said he has a love/hate relationship with the card, but then he admitted it allowed him the freedom to just wing it. Hop on a plane, rent a car, drive south and see what happened next. A baby whale slapping its tail, driving its mom nuts so that every once in a while, she'd swat it with her enormous pectoral flippers before caressing it with them, all to the amazement of passengers on Sanctuary. These were people who had no idea they'd find themselves in a swarm of whales that approached from all points of the compass (we NEVER approach whales close; we slowly enter the area, then let them decide how close they'll come).
How many opportunities do fathers and sons have to share an extraordinary experience? How many times do people plan an adventure in minute detail, hoping to make it a major event, only to have it flop? We couldn't help but feel great for these guys. Footloose and fancy free, if only for a couple of days, they siezed life and got the winning lottery ticket without even knowing they had bought one.
Mother's Day was yesterday and it was the first one since my mom died. I wrote a little tribute to her in an email update for the folks who have gotten on our mailing list through the web site. I was very pleasantly surprised to find our email flooded with responses from friends, family, even people we have never met who got the email forwarded by a friend. Several of those who wrote had fallen into Mom's protective aura as wayward kids and they joined me in trumpeting her generosity of spirit. Mom has moved on, but her humor and her compassion keep the flame burning.
Next Sunday, we will christen Princess of Whales in her Coming Out Party. It will be a casual affair at the dock at 5:30. We'll throw a little BBQ and kick back. If you'd like to be invited, here's what you do: Click on Talk to Us and get on our email list. I won't bury you in updates, but will send out one or two a month along with great specials ONLY available in updates. Once you're on the list, RSVP to us with your name and number of people in your party. Pretty easy.
Also check the Schedule and Special Events Calendar for a complete list of cruises and special events. The Save Our Shores benefit cruise with author David Helvarg ("Blue Frontier: Saving America's Living Seas") is June 9th. It will be catered by Southern Exposure and will offer a great way to support Save Our Shores while having fun and meeting interesting people. A delightful combination!

5/6/2001: Both Boats Worked This Week and We Did a Bunch of Good Things!

Word is getting out that there is something extraordinary going on in Moss Landing and we're it! We had worked with several of the top event planners around the Bay Area before with Sanctuary when we were based in Monterey, but this past week, they got a chance to meet the Princess of Whales and see what our new digs are like. They loved both!

Thanks to Mark Thomas, a talented naturalist in his own right, we had 100 Santa Cruz home school kids and their teachers/parents out with us on Friday and they flipped. The Bay was on its best behavior, the whales were incredibly cooperative and the kids got to see what they had been learning about. They felt really good knowing how much we respect and protect the fragile marine world and sea life.
We also hosted a fully catered evening cruise for the California State Newspaper Editors complete with a wine tasting by A Taste of Monterey. What great people! They set out a splendid buffet and arranged wine pouring stations up on the sundeck at the bar as well as in the main cabin at the galley bar.

As the sun set, editors who had been in demanding meetings all day sipped fine wines and watched a humpback whale puttering around just minutes outside the harbor. Two little boys were in the party: Mattie and Joey. Both took a turn at the wheel on Princess of Whales and are now convinced this is their calling in life.

Throughout the month of May, we are taking out ALL of the volunteers who helped test the water quality of the tributaries that drain into the waters of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. About 150 in all, these women, men, boys and girls dedicated a day to help us better understand the health of our waters and so it was a genuine pleasure to welcome them on board Princess of Whales and thank them for their efforts.

We also just completed our first cruise with Captain Brian Ackerman running Sanctuary and Debra Shearwater and her trip leaders aboard for a Shearwater Journeys bird and whale watching cruise. Make no mistake about this, Debra knows birds and whales like very few people in the world ever will. She is energetic, enthusiastic and she has discovered what we already knew: Sanctuary Cruises and Shearwater Journeys are a tremendous combination. We respect her talent, her creativity in starting bird and whale watching on the Monterey Bay over 20 years ago and her dedication to always raising the bar. We're helping and this is a match that will do wonderful things for Moss Landing.

So this was one of the very few Sanctuary Cruises trips ever for us that neither Steph nor I was on. I can't say we were missed, because Debra and her trip leaders are the consummate pros, plus Brian is a marvel. He has been relief skipper of the Point Lobos, one of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's research vessels, and his knowledge of what's on and in the Bay is boggling. He has a nice, gentle hand with a boat and he instantly bonded with Sanctuary, so you have to know we felt great, proud parents that we are.

Brian and Debi pulled up to the dock a few hours ago and the smiles on their passengers' faces were all we needed to see! Avid birders from the U.S. and Europe, they were very happy. They loved Debi and Brian, loved the boat and had a great time. They saw all sorts of pelagic birds as well as humpbacks and learned about them from brilliant people who love their work. We are every bit as happy as they were with their trip and we will try to put Brian to work more as he gets a day free from MBARI. That won't be too often for a while since Brian has just taken command of his own vessel, a newly retired San Francisco pilot boat that was donated to MBARI. We are awfully happy for him, but...

And finally, to round out the week, I was up at Clint Eastwood's new golf course in the gorgeous hills east of Monterey last night for a glittering affair that benefitted a local school. We donated a private charter for the auction and so I was there to describe what this might be. A whale watching cruise or a catered event. Maybe both. I took the microphone and said, "I'm Captain Heidi Tiura of Sanctuary Cruises," and the festive crowd seated at spectacular tables burst into applause. I grinned, nodded and went on, "Thank you. I notice that women often respond very favorably when they hear I am senior captain of our company." More applause, proving that whoever thought up the combination of serving lots of wine at glittering fund-raising auctions deserves hearty thanks.

I went on to explain that Sanctuary Cruises gave away over $20,000.00 in free cruises to kids' groups, schools, hospice and conservation organizations in its first year of doing business. Again they clapped. "That ain't nothin,'" I drawled. "This year, our goal is to give away twice that...[more applause]...and we are well on our way to doing just that. And we aren't even two years old yet!"

Isn't that something? We do business the way we want to do it. We treat people well, we offer fantastic boats and terrific crews. We manage to pay our bills as well as take bold strides in promoting conservation, stewardship of our natural world and helping groups do good things. What more can there be to life? I'll tell you what: Having a great person to share the journey with. Today, May 6th, is the 7th anniversary of my meeting Steph in Sitka, Alaska. He is my soul mate, my rock and my lighthouse. Happy Anniversary, Baby.

4/30/2001: New Friends and Old Friends on Our Boats and the Monterey Bay

This week, I made a rather dramatic discovery as I checked people in for our cruises. On several of them, over one half of our passengers had been out with us before. Some had been out with us on numerous occasions. I commented on this and was told by one woman, "Your company is an addiction for us!" One fellow said he and his wife had just been out with Steph a few days earlier and they'd had such a great time on Sanctuary with the humpbacks, they wanted to come again and compare the experience on Princess of Whales.
The Tillotson family (David took that tremendous photograph at the top of this page) has been out with us so many times that we are pretty sure they could give the introductory talk. Their little girl Brigid took a turn at the wheel on Princess of Whales Saturday, so she may become one of our next captains in training. All of their kids have a fondness for the foredeck and they move about on both boats with the familiarity of family. This is great to see.
Another revelation has been the reaction of returning guests who had only experienced going out on Sanctuary when we were based in Monterey. Emily Honig and her son have been coming out with us since we started Sanctuary Cruises, but yesterday was their first time on the catamaran. Emily wasn't sure she'd like the Princess of Whales after Sanctuary, which is "so intimate, closer to the water." But after a marvelous time out there with whales every direction and being able to see them so easily, especially from the upper sundeck, she conceded both vessels have their strengths. I think her son might favor Princess, though. He also took a few turns at the wheel as we headed in from the whales and afterward, he asked his mother, "How do you think I could get Heidi's job?"
We saw several old friends on the water as well. The underside of a humpback's tail is every bit as unique as our fingerprints and there was no mistaking the whale with the almost totally bright white undersides. Or the one with what looks like white freckles 2/3 of the way out from the center.
A whale which is in our photo galleries on the whale watching page has not shown up since 1999 and we are concerned. That's Shred, the whale missing 1/3 of its outer flukes. We aren't sure what sex Shred is, but we think of her as a female. I wonder if perhaps Shred lost so much of her flukes from becoming entangled in some sort of cables or heavy fishing gear, perhaps when she was young. What did this poor whale suffer through, I wonder. And was it at the hands of humans she was so badly disfigured?
Life deals us experiences that sometimes leave us richer and sometimes they leave us far different from how we were. When I first saw Shred, I nearly cried. I couldn't help but think of Steph, the love of my life, and how his life was altered forever back in the late 70's when he stopped to aid the victim of a car crash. An off-duty firefighter at the time, Steph was hit by another vehicle after heroically throwing the victim out of the path of an oncoming, speeding car.
18 months later, after several failed operations, Steph had half of his right leg amputated so he could get on with his life. Maybe some people looked at Shred with disgust, which is how some people look at Steph's prosthesis when he wears shorts. But with both of them, all I have ever felt was admiration. They took some of the worst experiences life could deal and they survived. Yes, life deals us experiences that sometimes leave us richer and sometimes they leave us far different from how we were. But to triumph over such adversity is an inspiration for the rest of us. I know Steph is okay; I sure hope Shred is.

4/22/2001:
Princess of Whales Got a Whole New Exhaust System and Humpback Whales Are Here in Big Numbers!

Even though our new catamaran, Princess of Whales, is only two years old, we knew she needed a better exhaust system, so Steph scheduled the work to fall within the week, hoping she'd be ready for Easter weekend. Unfortunately, we were a few parts shy (I use the editorial "we," since our great welder, Dave Jablonski of Moss Landing, Steph, Danny and our mechanic Rick were the ones who did the work.) We didn't have her ready for last weekend and then ANOTHER part got lost in transit and we almost couldn't use her this weekend. However, it showed up late Friday and Steph put the finishing touches on her that evening.
She was back for our weekend trips and she definitely likes the attention lavished on her. Already a quiet boat, she is now even quieter. Since we have digital panels that tell us all sorts of things about her engines, fuel use and so on, we can tell the new system is a winner. Thank you Rick for conveying to Dave what you envisioned for the job. Thank you Dave for a great design and thorough, quality workmanship. Thank you Danny for the tough job assisting as well as cleaning up the God-awful-mess. And thank you Steph for being such a wonderful, strong, creative partner for me. In spearheading this project, as with everything else you take on, you have immersed yourself in a new world that requires so much dedication as you figure out the best approach and then make it happen. You have always been my hero. You always will be and I adore you.
We've had great humpback whale activity all of this week. I ran a trip on Friday morning and we found a couple of humpbacks just 2 miles from Moss Landing Harbor! Saturday, Steph ran the Princess of Whales and we must have had twenty whales around us. On several occasions this past week, they surfaced fairly close to us so our passengers were able to hear their explosive blows, see that their seemingly black skin is actually a swirling combination of dark grays and even note their dual blowholes. Make no mistake about this, though. When whales are this close to us, it's their choice. We ease into the area, then we wait and see what happens. Often, they will surface close to us. We pull our engines into neutral, then leave it up to the whales. They are comfortable, our passengers are enchanted and we are happy, because these are our goals.
Today, it was my turn to drive the Princess of Whales with her cool, new exhaust system. You might think it's hard for a person to think of a boat as a living entity, but I do. She had a hard life before us. There was no one like Steph or Rick in the boat yard supervising her construction. She was built in Mississippi for a southern California company and overall, they did a supern job. But there were some flaws, too, such as the exhaust system. Attempts to fix them once she arrived in southern California were half-hearted. So Steph and Rick dove into her with a vengeance once we got her and now she is amazing us with her readouts. If a boat can smile, I do believe this one has a very broad grin on her bows!
We had folks from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary out with us today. We had passengers join us from Michigan, all over California and even a few from our own backyard, just a few miles away. They were all able to appreciate the fact that the wondrous world of whales is open to those who look out and really see. By watching and hearing and putting together the puzzle pieces that comprise the natural world, they were able to leave our boat better for the experience.
Now I ask you, can there be a greater reward in one's work? I doubt it.

4/16/2001: Easter Bunnies and Fabulous Whales

The weekend was a gift in many ways. We had nice weather, fantastic humpback whales that were gorging on bait balls the size of football fields and our first Sanctuary Cruises' Moss Landing Harbor Easter Egg Hunt took place without incident. However, we did almost panic when the grand prize eggs weren't found.
It was an unusual weekend, since we didn't run Princess of Whales. Some scheduled maintenance ran into overtime, so Sanctuary took over. Several people who were with us had already been out on the catamaran, so this gave them a chance to compare the two boats. They discovered that each has her specialties. Princess is big and grand and has a smoother ride since she straddles the seas. But Sanctuary allows a more intimate experience and when whales surfaced nearby, people were closer to the water and them. I love them both!
After our Sunday whale watching cruise--complete with whales surfacing near the boat and all of us getting what will be some darned good pictures--we kept everyone who was interested in the egg hunt on the boat. I went up and hid the candy in the pretty little community park next to the head of our dock. Two very special Cadbury eggs had glittery fish stickers on them. Blue was first prize and pink was second. I told the kids whomever found blue got a choice of four whale watching passes or four passes to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. So the kids headed into the park first and they scrambled around, snatching the colorful candies. But after several minutes, no one found the two prize eggs, so the adults joined the kids. I love stuff like this.
One little girl yelled to her mother, "Don't bother with the other candies, Mom! Just look for the Cadbury's!" She certainly found most of them, but none of them had a fish sticker. Finally, two girls from Bremen, Germany, examined the contents of their pockets more carefully and discovered they'd won the grand prizes. It was a hoot and I can't wait for next year!
We will be running trips at 10:30 Wednesday through Sunday, with Princess back in action for the weekend, although she will be seeing more weekday service as our weekday trips are growing.

4/10/2001: A Double Breach and Our First Friendlies of the Year!

You should have been with us Sunday! The humpback whales arrived on Monterey Bay last week and Sunday, we had our first friendlies of the year, as well as our first double breach. A breach is when the whale jumps out of the water and then thunders back into it.
The whales were cruising along off our starboard side several hundred feet away when all of a sudden, here they came! Their pectoral flippers spun around their bodies, their pleated throats were plain to see. Almost everyone saw it and they went absolutely crazy over it. That's one enormous splash they make!
Dierdre Hall was driving the catamaran at the time. Steph was acting as her mentor and coaching her. Dierdre works for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, but she is getting sea time so she can sit for a Coast Guard license. She has a lot of experience with other vessels, but this experience is proving to be useful in several ways, since it allows her to observe the whales and how we work. She has a light hand with the throttles and a patient manner with the whales. Steph and I have said several times recently that she has the makings of becoming a fine captain.
Sharing what we know with aspiring captains and nurturing them means a lot to us. This is how one learns. A skipper who doesn't share knowledge and experience, helping newcomers grow and excel, is a selfish person. I worked with good ones and bad ones as I made my way through the maritime industry. I appreciated those who were generous in spirit and vowed to be like them. Same with Steph, who was my protege years ago, before he became a hotshot captain and wonderful engineer to boot.
I was up top spotting and wouldn't you know, I didn't have my cameras with me when the whales breached. But I may have gotten a great photograph along with several of our passengers later. We watched the pair of humpbacks for a while, then moved off to see some others. This is a good thing to do. It reduces the impact on specific animals and it allows us to see others. So Dierde eased us away from the first pair of humpbacks and ahead to some others.
We noticed they turned toward us, so we just stopped and waited. Darn if they didn't come up just ahead of the bows of Princess of Whales and hang there! Their blows were so loud and so powerful that most of us gasped. It is thrilling! This friendly, or curious behavior, fascinates us. Clearly they are curious about us, or at least our boat. And since this was the first friendly behavior shown around Princess of Whales since we got her, it was especially gratifying. I think they like her.
Dierdre had never seen whales so close and she was impressed to see them come to us. The whales wandered around our bow, then came up on our port side, then they disappeared. We just sat. Not long after, one surfaced behind the catamaran, so close that our mate Danny (Captain Cordova), who was on the main deck, was just about speechless. By the time he finally headed up to tell us, we'd spotted it and that's when I got what I think is a great picture.
There were several people standing on the main deck, looking at the whale right behind us. It arched its back in a tight curve, then threw its enormous flukes to the sky in a spectacular, slow-motion, breathtaking move. I can't wait to finish this role of film!
For the last several days, we have had humpbacks here and the great news is they'll be here well into fall. But the spring whales, the ones who have just arrived after a winter's fast in the waters of Mexico, often are astounding. The humpbacks are the acrobats of the great whales and they sure are welcome back here. We will still see gray whales the next few months and as the gray whale mothers with calves head north, the orcas will show up again. You can see why we like spring so much; there is a lot to see out here.
Upcoming events include an Easter Egg Hunt for kids after our whale watching cruise Easter Sunday. There will be a couple of grand prizes: A gift certificate for 4 whale watching cruises with Sanctuary Cruises as well as a set of four passes to the outstanding Monterey Bay Aquarium. Our First Officer, Fluke, promises she will wear her bunny ears and her tiara for the event. I think that's overdoing it, but she's her own dog and does what she wants.
Remember, our web site has a great discount coupon on the Spring Whale sale link (buy 3, the 4th goes free or $2.00 off per person), but if you or friends would like the April email special, which is the best discount we currently are offering, all you have to do is sign up on Talk to Us.
If you're thinking of taking a little holiday and coming to the Monterey Bay area for a few days, check out our hotel packages on the Information link. They are with places we really like and you will, too.

4/6/2001: THE HUMPBACKS ARE HERE!!!

I spent all day in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council's meeting down in Big Sur. I am on the council and honored to be part of it. It was a very rewarding day and I will write about it soon. Steph and Danny ran Sanctuary today and they took a great group of folks out whale watching, including Susan Dale, who calls herself our "Colorado Representative for Sanctuary Cruises." Susan loves us and the feeling is mutual. She is finishing up a program out here and heading back east, so today was her swan song cruise, at least for a while. We knew humpbacks were getting close, but today, they arrived! Steph is telling me about it as I write, his voice rising with excitement as he says, "We had several of them come up right by the boat! There must have been 10 to 15 of them. It was so great and Susan was the hero for having brought her team out with us!"
Mind you, we never run down the whales. If they CHOOSE to come close to us, we pull our engines out of gear so they can't get sliced by our propellers. I explained this to a cool guy down in Big Sur who washed my windowshield, in the rain, while I put some gas in my car. He'd asked where I live and what I do, so we got to talking about whales and dolphins. You know how it goes. That's Big Sur for you; when's the last time someone washed your windows?
So that's how today went. I learned a lot about our Sanctuary. I put my two cents' worth in on protecting it and working with the fishers who make their livings here. I got to chat with a nice guy who washed my windshield. And Steph and Danny and Susan and others spent their day in the enchanted company of humpback whales. Life is good.

4/2/2001: A Cruddy Weekend, Old Friends, New Friends

Every once in a while, the weather stinks, the whales are scarce and we have what we call "a long boat ride," rather than an exciting adventure with whales and maybe dolphins. That sums up Sunday pretty well. But our passengers were some of the nicest people and I noticed a common thread with many. They complimented us on our web site. The internet gives me a chance to present us as we really are and when that grabs people, it's because they are kindred spirits. So we had a lot of happy people who made the best of a day that showed promise weather-wise, but soon deteriorated into a day I'd rather have spent at home with Steph and Fluke watching videos (Fluke's not much on movies, but she loves the popcorn). Even so, we did our best to make the cruise as good as it could be. Steph drove and narrated the trip. Danny, our mate, and his son Jeremy, our deckhand, tended the snack bar and took care of folks who got seasick. These guys are priceless and they made people feel better with their kind and patient care. I spotted (an exercise in futility, looking for whales that didn't materialize) and I mingled with the folks. We had some good laughs and many assured us they'd be back again.
Not all of our passengers were strangers to us. Dennis Long was there with his two kids. Dennis works for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and it is so gratifying that when Sanctuary people want to go whale watching, they choose us. We had a flotilla of women from Pescadero, sent by a dear friend, all of whom swept aboard with the gusto of a sports bar's Super Bowl party. We were surprised by Ray Santiago and friends from San Francisco. Ray met us when he was sent to film a couple of CNN pieces on us back when we started working with the gray whales for our project, In the Path of Giants. He has been such a wonderful advocate for us since and this was his first chance to experience the catamaran. Despite the weather, Ray just glowed at the end of the trip. He said he couldn't get over how smooth the ride was.
Back at the dock, the last party to leave was two women and two kids. We got to talking and the little girl, who was all of six, knocked me out with her sharp mind. When I asked their names, she told me and then spelled them for me. When I showed her pictures I have taken of whales on other trips, she correctly identified two that are on our web site. We can't control the weather and we sure haven't figured out how to make whales appear on the odd day they are scarce, but I thought it'd be nice to send these kids home with one of the enlargements we had framed for the boat. It's of a humpback's head, from one of the days we were visited by friendly whales that stayed close by for long periods of time. This whale had a deep scar, which I showed to her. We talked about how it might have happened and agreed it was good the whale survived. I pointed out the blowholes, which were pinched shut. She nodded as she took it all in. I have no doubt everyone who visits their home will hear all of this detail as Katie ("K-A-T-I-E!") shows them the picture. She's now a member in good standing in the Whale's Navy.
This morning, diving into the paper end of the business and attempting to set my priorities for the day, I had the great pleasure of opening this email:
Heidi, Steph, Danny, Jeremy, and of course Fluke,
Just wanted to thank you again for our adventure today on the Princess of Whales. Now, you certainly couldn't do much about cold weather, seasickness and shy whales. But in spite of those obstacles, our kids had a wonderful time aboard your ship. The crew did their best under less-than-ideal circumstances; everyone was warm and friendly and really made us feel welcome.
The ship is beautiful and as promised on your website, as clean as a whistle (even while the kids were, um, giving Jeremy and his scrub-brush a challenge on the aft deck). Steph did a great job as captain - we really enjoyed his commentary during the ride. Fluke was gorgeous in her tiara and she made quite an impression on our kids, who are usually afraid of dogs. And Heidi, your generosity in giving the kids a *signed* photo was definitely the highlight for Katie and Robbie! The beautiful picture will have a special place in our home, where the kids can show off their new knowledge about ships and sea mammals.
You know, it's easy to impress people when the weather's sunny, the seas are calm and the whales are playful; it's a lot harder on days like today. But you certainly impressed us with your professionalism, positive attitude, warmth and friendliness. Thansk for going above and beyond the call of duty to make our day really special.
Tina, Jenny, Katie and Robbie/San Mateo, CA
p.s. The website is really, really nice - great design, easy to navigate and frequently updated. Don't know how you manage that on top of your other business, but you've done a great job!

As I told Tina in my reply, she could not have chosen kinder words, nor delivered them at a better time. Mondays are crazy and so I am off to deal with this one as soon as I mention our Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.

Last Thursday evening, we hosted a Chamber Mixer, a social event aboard Princess of Whales. We took the boat to Monterey and docked her right behind Massaro & Santos, a marvelous restaurant overlooking the Bay. Over 200 people attended this mixer, making it a smashing hit. Indian Summer joined us and commandeered the galley to serve great appetizers from their restaurant. Massaro & Santos dished up homemade ravioli with freshly grated parmesan dockside. A Moveable Feast, the catering company run by Michael (who is easily as sassy as he is the consummate pro), turned our sundeck bar into a smoked salmon and oyster bar. Baywood Cellars served their wonderful wines and Monterey Soda sampled their organic sodas, including the strawberry creme which is made from organic, local strawberries. Windborne Kites of Pacific Grove supplied such colorful and exotic windsocks and spinners for the Princess of Whales that we have decided to permanently adorn her with them. On very special occasions, we will bring out the fully dimensional mermaid kite that defies description. She was fantastic perched up on the ladder that leads to the top of the bridge.
The mixer was a spectacular way to introduce the Princess to the peninsula and for that, we would like to thank all who participated and in particular, Bob Rice and Phyllis Grillo-Weinbrenner of the Chamber for their dedication and inspiration. Sanctuary Cruises is my 8th or 9th business. I started my first store at the age of 22 and I have always been a little smug about how I have done well with hard word and some luck. I never felt I needed whatever it was a Chamber of Commerce might have to offer. Now, I am sheepish with the realization that I probably could have done a lot better, a lot faster, had I understood what a good Chamber does for businesses. This one is a solid gold keeper.

3/25/2001: Killer Whales and a Valliant Effort

We had quite a weekend. Several groups who have joined us before for cruises came out with us again, including a whole bunch of friends from the Half Moon Bay area. We talked about how every trip is different and you never can tell what you'll see out there. Some had been on pretty spectacular cruises with us, so they felt they wouldn't see anything that would beat them. But that was before I caught a couple of small blows out of the corner of my eye, followed by brief flashes of shiny black backs. ORCAS!
We turned our boat and eased that way. There were a couple of them, then three, with the third having a distinctly different dorsal fin. It was a male, so the dorsal was long, but rather than standing straight, it folded over to the left, giving the impression it had been cut off. Our passengers squealed with delight at every surfacing. Those with cameras clicked away. I was on top of the bridge, waaaay up there, spotting, but I ran down and got my camera, too. You don't take a beautiful day with cooperative killer whales for granted!
These animals are at the top of the food chain. They hunt in packs very much as wolves do. We figured there were more out there. Sure enough. After watching them through several series of surfacings, then sounding for a few minutes before returning to the surface to breathe, we spotted more killer whales scattered around the area.
As other boats joined us to look at the whales we were watching, we felt it was time to leave. Yes, we owe it to our passengers to show them whales, but above that, we owe it to the whales to minimize our impact on them. We'd had some good looks. When all 3 breached at once, which certainly could have been a reaction to the increased traffic, we eased away. I must say, our passengers showed great form in agreeing it was best to leave. We were rewarded for our act several minutes later when a pod of what seemed to be 2 or 3 orcas turned into 5. Calmly arcing out of the water, their sleek black and white bodies sparkled with sunshine. Steph counted them off on the PA as they appeared, "There's one! And two! Three, four, FIVE!" We even saw a few distant gray whale blows and a large gray came up close to us once before we headed back to Moss Landing. It had been a great trip.
But halfway back to our harbor, Steph heard a frantic call for help. A sailboat was capsized and almost in the surf. What a gut-wrenching heartbreaker! There were no other vessels nearby except for another sailboat. It was close in, tacking back and forth, looking for people in the water, so Steph radioed the rescue team at the beach to report we'd stand by offshore. We enlisted our passengers to look for anyone in the water. They were great. They came up on the sundeck and scoured the water with binoculars, as did our crew. I reminded them someone could be farther out than they expected. If they tried to swim in, they could be up or down the coast rather than having drifted in with the boat.
The next report we got was that the boat was breaking up in the surf, which was pretty large. After spending several minutes, we told the shore rescue team we were heading in. There wasn't anything we could do. It was with a heavy heart that we made our way to port. No one ever feels good about such a thing, but we gave it our best shot and so did our passengers. They showed exceptional grace when we pulled away from the three orcas and they exhibited compassion in looking for victims in the water. Well done!